


Just a Dream

by hellolife21



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/306702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellolife21/pseuds/hellolife21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is in the military. Jensen gets a visit one day, and nothing is the same. (CHARACTER DEATH IS A WARNING, YES! BUT NOT ALL IT AS SEEMS)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> DON"T RUN AWAY! CHARACTER DEATH IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS, I PROMISE!

Jensen dropped the remote on the couch as he passed by carrying his bowl of frosted flakes. Sadie trailed at his heels, hoping he might drop some of his cereal or something. The doorbell was chiming from the front door signaling a visitor. He couldn’t imagine who it would be at 8 in the morning. It was probably going to be Mrs. McKnight from up the block telling him Harley was out again and digging holes in her yard. Or maybe it could be Mr. Gunderson returning some mail he received on accident . That sort of thing happened all the time since the new mail carrier, Mr. Hanks, lost his reading glasses.

The door opened with a light creak and standing there was a man in a US Army uniform, looking solemn to a point. Jensen felt his stomach drop out, but pushed his immediate thought to the back of his mind and opened the glass screen door with a, “Hello.”

Sadie greeted the uniformed man happily. The man patted her on the head and she ran back into the house. In search of a toy no doubt. “Are you Jensen Ackles?” the man asked.

“Y-yes,” Jensen choked holding his cereal bowl in a vice grip.

“You are the significant other of Military Specialist Jared Padalecki, correct?”

Jensen felt like the bowl was going to shatter into pieces and his stomach was about to empty it’s contents. He didn’t want to hear what he thought the man was going to say next. It was his biggest fear. “Y-yes,” he stammered again.

The man reached out and pried the bowl from Jensen’s fingers before speaking again. He did this solely to save his uniform from milk stains when Jensen dropped it or broke it, either way. “I’m Corporal James Harrison. I regret to inform you that Jared Tristan Padalecki, Specialist in the US Army, has passed away.”

The words sounded so foreign to Jensen. It was as if he could no longer speak English, and this man in front of him was saying gibberish. Jensen just fell. His knees gave out and he just fell to the ground, a huge gaping hole in his chest where anything happy ever resided. Jared was gone. Dead. Taken from Jensen in the blink of an eye, and all he had to show for it was this man at his door step. 

This was Jared’s last tour, stationed in Falluja, and then he was done for good. He was coming home in mere weeks. Jared was a medic and according to all his letters, he never left the camp. Jensen didn’t understand how he was killed if he was safe in the camp. 

Corporal Harrison touched Jensen’s shoulder lightly and said, “We’ll need to make arrangements as soon as possible.”

Jensen clamored to his feet and held the door frame for stability. “Can I call you or something? I need a little time alone.”

The Corporal handed him a business like card with a name and number and a small cushioned package. He bid Jensen goodbye and headed back to his car. Jensen closed the door and slid down it just as tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes. Shock was setting in and he was beginning to tremble. Sadie came over to him, automatically sensing something to be wrong, she barked for Harley to join her. They sat beside Jensen panting and whining.

It wasn’t as if Jensen shouldn’t have expected this at any moment. Things like this happened everyday while soldiers were over seas. People died all the time. Jensen knew what Jared’s leaving meant. He knew, but he lulled himself into this false truth that Jared would be okay, no matter what. Then when Jensen got the letter saying he would be home in a few weeks, well, everything was perfect. Jensen was happier than he’d ever been in his life. Jared had been away for six months, and in a few weeks he would be in his arms again. 

Except now he wouldn’t be. He’d be home, but in a casket. Jensen tore off the top of the package and poured it’s contents into his palm. Jared’s dog tags and chain, along with a pocket knife Jensen had given him last Christmas. He clenched his fist around the items until the dog tag cut so hard into his hand he began to bleed. Sadie licked the wound when Jensen released the tags and knife, they fell to the floor with a light clank.

Harley nosed at the items, whining. He could small Jared on them. The big dog raised his head to stare at Jensen pleadingly. 

Jensen shook his head slowly at the dog, “Daddy’s not coming home anymore, baby.”

Harley laid his head down on Jensen’s outstretched leg and Sadie moved to Jensen’s other side to lay against the larger dog. 

A hot steady stream of tears fell from Jensen’s face when he spoke to the dog. Jared’s dog, their dog, Jensen’s dog. He worked his phone out of his pocket and pressed speed dial three. Jared’s parents.

***

The funeral was set up three days later. Corporal Harrison had come by when Jensen called him. Details of Jared were discussed. Funeral plans with Jensen, and Jared’s parents were discussed. Benefits were offered and talked through. Everything went by in a haze. Jensen didn’t sleep, he ate very little, dry cereal and water mostly. Danneel had come by to check on him. Chris stopped in twice to make sure Jensen was taking care of the dogs and not killing himself.

The funeral was on a Wednesday. It was sunny, there were a few clouds in the sky, no sign of rain. The funeral service was to be held at the cemetery. A good group of people were invited, 90% of them showed up. Mostly friends and family. Some other soldiers attended.

Jensen was late. He overslept, then laid in bed for another half an hour debating on going or not. As if by Jensen’s not going, it meant Jared wasn’t really dead. If that was true, Jensen would gladly never step foot out of him house again. Sadie nosed his hand, begging to be let out. He gave in and stumbled from his room, past the living room, past the kitchen and to the back door. He let her and Harley out and they began barking.

His head pounded and he popped three Tylenol in the kitchen, chased them with orange juice. Jensen was hung over as hell. A six pack of beer and half a bottle of tequila will fuck anybody up. He dressed in his room, jeans and an un-tucked button up, new boots. Grabbing a box of letters Jared had sent along with Harley and Sadie’s leashes, he let the dogs back in the house. Jensen leashed up each dog and took them out to his truck, put them in the back with the box on the front seat and took off for the cemetery.

The service was short. Sherri Padalecki cried throughout the whole thing, clutching to her husband and daughter. Jeff, Jared’s older brother, stood with his wife close by. Everyone shed tears at some point during the funeral. 

Jensen took the folded up flag handed to him and put it under his arm while he dumped the letters into the open grave as the casket was lowered. He tossed the box aside and hugged the flag to him desperately. This was it. The final goodbye. 

The shots rang out across the cemetery and Jensen could feel each one as if it his him directly in his heart. Then everything was done. Jensen felt his knees going weak and he fell backwards. Nobody was there to catch him.

***

Jensen opened his eyes and he stared at the white textured ceiling. It was early morning, around 5Am. Birds were just starting to make noise. Jensen first noted that Harley and Sadie were not on the bed, though they usually slept there all night long, and only got up to make Jensen let them out.

The second thing Jensen noticed was that he was hearing the dog’s nails on the floor of the living room. Click clacking, like they were jumping or wiggling around. As if he had a visitor. Jensen threw off his blankets and reached for Jared’s knife he’d set on the bedside table. It wasn’t there. Neither were the dog tags.

Jensen felt his stomach bottom out. He didn’t understand what was going on. He threw open his bedroom door and ran down the hall and into the living room. Everything was as it usually was, dark, quiet, no signs of life. No signs of life. The dogs. Where…they were barking outside. Someone let them out. Jensen grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter and slowly made his way around to the front foyer, knife held out in front of him.

Then he saw him. Jared, standing in the flesh, bending over a duffel bag, rifling through it. “You’re dead!” he screamed dropping the knife.

Jared spun around, alarmed by the sudden noise. And it was in fact Jared. Six foot five, two hundred pounds, brown shaggy hair, hazel eyes, mole beside his nose, Jared. “Jesus, Jen. Scared the fuck outta me.”

“How? I don’t…Jared why are you here?!” Jensen felt like he was going to hurl. Jared was dead, he buried him yesterday. He watched the casket lowering into the grave, he threw the letters in, he had the dog tags. The dog tags. They weren’t on the night stand, neither was the knife.

“Jen, I told you I was coming home soon. What’s wrong?” Jared stepped closer to Jensen, but Jensen stepped back.

“What day is it?” Jensen asked.

“February 26th.” Jared said slowly, still unsure why his boyfriend was acting this way.

Jensen swallowed hard. Everything was starting to make sense. He didn’t have the knife or dog tags, because Jared had them still. Jared was home, not dead. It was a dream, a very lucid, horrifyingly real, dream. Jensen felt like he was going to faint as relief hit him like a sack of bricks. 

“Jensen, I don'-”

Jensen tackled Jared hard, body slamming against his with full force. Jared just barely had time to catch his flying lover and not fall over. Jensen was latched on to him, hands digging so far into Jared’s back he was sure there would be bruises. Jensen was muttering a mantra of “Don’t leave. Don’t die, I love you, god, I love you.”

Jared rubbed his hand up and down on Jensen’s back while cradling his shoulders with his other arm. “Jen, I’m home. For good. I’m not going away ever again.” 

Jensen sniffed hard and he began sobbing, “It was just a dream”

“Hmm?” 

Jensen pulled back enough to repeat himself clearly, “It was just a dream. A night mare, you aren’t dead.”

Jared moved his hand to the back of Jensen’s head. “Damn, Jensen. Let’s get me unpacked, then you’ll tell me about this dream.”

Jensen leaned up and kissed Jared for the first time in six months.


End file.
